Spray nozzles are used to dispense fluids from a variety of different containers. The containers may hold one or a combination of various ingredients, and typically use a permanent or temporary pressure force to discharge the contents of the container. When the container is an aerosol can, for example, one or more chemicals or other active ingredients to be dispensed are usually mixed in a solvent and are typically further mixed with a propellant to pressurize the can. Known propellants include carbon dioxide, selected hydrocarbon gas, or mixtures of hydrocarbon gases such as a propane/butane mix. For convenience, materials to be dispensed may be referred to herein merely as “actives”, regardless of their chemical nature or intended function.
The active/propellant mixture may be stored under constant, but not necessarily continuous, pressure in an aerosol can. A release valve is mounted in the top end of the can and is normally in a closed position. An activator button is coupled to the release valve such that it will move the release valve to the open position when the activator is pushed in a predetermined direction, such as down or sideways. The sprayed active may exit in an emulsion state, single phase, multiple phase, and/or partial gas phase. Without limitation, actives can include insect control agents (such as propellant, insecticide, or growth regulator), fragrances, sanitizers, cleaners, waxes or other surface treatments, and/or deodorizers.
In simple arrangements, pressure on a valve control stem can be provided by finger pressure on a button attached to the stem and having an internal passageway that leads the contents of the can to an outlet on the side of the button. In response to actuation of the valve, the can contents are permitted to pass through the outlet via the internal passageway, thereby generating a spray that exits into the ambient environment.
In non-aerosol applications, a temporary pressure force is used to discharge the contents of the container. Trigger pumps, for example, use manual force to advance fluid through a dip tube in the container for ultimate discharge through the spray nozzle.
The spray patterns generated by conventional nozzles are not particularly well suited for many household applications. Conventional nozzles typically generate a conical spray jet, which leads to inconsistent, uneven coverage of a surface. Additionally, when treating planar surfaces having square or rectangular shapes (such as shower walls), it is often very difficult to evenly reach the total surface of the wall with a conical-shaped spray jet. Indeed, a conical-shaped spray jet cannot reach corners without also partially reaching adjacent surfaces, leading to overspraying. Other nozzles are known which produce a relatively flat fan-shaped spray jet. While a fan-shaped jet can reach corners more reliably without overspraying, the product to be dispensed is not distributed uniformly across the entire spray pattern and the relatively flat pattern requires excessive movement by the user to reach the entire surface to be covered.